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A: Traditionally, greater waist size was considered a marker of especially increased risk among those already at health risk because of overweight. However, research now shows that even if your overall weight is within the recommended range, large waist size increases your risk of chronic disease and raises mortality rates among middle-aged and older adults. Waist size can reflect excess fat deep around organs in the belly. That belly fat tissue is especially likely to produce proteins that circulate through the body promoting inflammation, and it’s especially linked to the problem of high levels of insulin that does not function normally. A recent population study in Germany involving over 25,000 participants showed that among people of low or normal weight (body mass index less than 25), those who had waists above 31.5 inches (women) or 37 inches (men) were more than two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half times as likely to develop diabetes as those below these waist size cut-offs over the eight year follow-up period. They were also at least as likely to develop the disease as those who were overweight but had a smaller waist. Another study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that even increases in waist that occur during participants’ 50s and 60s increase risk of diabetes. Analysis in a major report from the American Institute for Cancer Research shows that risk of colon cancer increases five percent for each one-inch increase in waist size. The report recommends aiming to keep waist size no more than 31.5 inches in women and 37 inches in men.

Q: What is interval training? Is this really something for athletes or is it good for everyone?

A: Interval Training refers to short bursts (intervals) of more intense activity mixed into more moderate activity. The American College of Sports Medicine and American Council on Exercise says that it allows you to increase fitness without long periods of running, and you can more rapidly and comfortably achieve higher levels of physical activity. You can include this principle of injecting one or two minutes’ faster or more challenging activity into walking, bicycling or almost any type of activity. Start with just a few of these intervals in your activity, but you might work up to 10 or 12 intense intervals per session. Follow each high-intensity period by twice as long a block of lower-intensity activity. For example, after the all-important five to ten minutes of warm-up, you might jog or bike hard enough that it feels like 7 or 8 on a 1-to-10 scale of exertion for 30 seconds to two minutes, and then slow down to activity that feels like a 4 or 5. Repeat this as desired, as long as you allow for a good five to ten minutes of cool-down activity before you’re done. This technique of improving fitness can work for people of wide-ranging age and fitness levels, but those at any increased heart-related risk should be sure to discuss this with their doctor in advance. That includes people with known heart disease, as well as people who have ever been given chemotherapy that might have had heart-damaging side effects and people taking medication for high blood pressure.

Our Mission: The American Institute for Cancer Research champions the latest and most authoritative scientific research from around the world on cancer prevention and survival through diet, weight and physical activity, so that we can help people make informed lifestyle choices to reduce their cancer risk.

We have contributed over $105 million for innovative research conducted at universities, hospitals and research centers across the country. Find evidence-based tools and information for lowering cancer risk, including AICR’s Recommendations for Cancer Prevention, at www.aicr.org.